January 8, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 3 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Page H278]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     WE NEED TO OPEN THE GOVERNMENT

  (Mr. KILMER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. KILMER. Madam Speaker, yesterday, I met with a group of Federal 
workers in Tacoma to discuss the impacts of the government shutdown. 
One of the folks there was a prison guard. She told me that, without 
her paycheck, she didn't know if she could pay for childcare or for the 
prescriptions she needs after successfully fighting cancer just last 
year.
  Because of this shutdown, that is the conversation that is unfolding 
across 800,000 kitchen tables as Federal workers try to figure out how 
to scrape together mortgage payments and rent payments, trying to make 
due without a paycheck.
  This crisis doesn't just impact Federal workers. It hurts entire 
communities. It hurts the economy around Olympic National Park, such as 
hotel owners and restaurateurs, when people cancel their visit to the 
park because of the shutdown. It affects college students, prospective 
home buyers, and small business owners who won't have access to Federal 
loans because of this shutdown.
  Madam Speaker, while we can have a legitimate discussion about 
immigration reform, America doesn't need a wall. It doesn't need a 5th 
century answer to a 21st century challenge. America needs an open 
government. The Senate and the President can and should make this 
happen right now.

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